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O’More College of Design Showhouse

Eloise Pitts O’More—well into her 90s—drove through historic Franklin, Tennessee, in her gold Cadillac, fire-red hair pinned in a topknot barely visible over the wheel. Mrs. O’More was a local legend, founding O’More College of Design in 1970 and personally overseeing nearly every aspect of its operation, from interviewing students for admission to teaching classes.

The grande dame of design died in 2002, but the school continues to thrive, graduating hundreds of interior, fashion, and graphic designers. The college’s interior design department, Traditional Home magazine, Franklin-based Bristol Development, many local and national businesses, and 17 O’More alums—graduates from 1978 to 2008—united in 2013 to create a showhouse that would have made Mrs. O’More proud.

Thanks to John Montgomery, president of the Franklin construction firm Carbine & Associates, and project managers Ray Kash and Doug Julian, the house was completed in a record time of just four months.

Spearheaded by designer JoAnne Haynes (class of 1981) and Bristol Development cofounder Ashlyn Hines Meneguzzi, the team built a 4,500-square-foot shingle-style cottage on an infill lot just a short walking distance from Mrs. O’More’s 1866 mansion (now used for college administration offices).

Architect John Abernathy took inspiration from Southern shotgun houses, stacking rooms front to back, when designing for the long, narrow lot. The arrangement puts the dining room at the front of the house, washed with northern light from an 8x8-foot street-facing window and overlooked by a portrait of Mrs. O’More in a teal blue (of course) gown.

In the kitchen, Vicki Edwards (class of 1982) blended Craftsman-inspired cabinet details such as chunky corbels with contemporary elements, including a stainless steel vent hood and cylinder-shaped pendant lights. “I wanted to complement the style of the house while making this a 21st-century kitchen,” she says. Chrome-framed stools were an online find: “I needed something other than wood.”

“The warm gray and brown tiles and the brownish-gray color of the island really dictated the color scheme,” Edwards adds. The island top is walnut in a driftwood finish that “almost looks pickled or bleached.” Perimeter quartz-surface countertops were finished with a hefty 2 1/4-inch-thick edge in keeping with the scale of the room. To create visual flow from room to room, hickory floors in “Weathered Saddle” from Shaw Floors were installed throughout the home.

When L. Jonathan Savage (class of 2008) was growing up in Nashville, his family often used the breakfast room for entertaining, as well as for casual meals. “It can be a nice intimate place for dining,” he says. That vision inspired his sophisticated room centered on a black-and-white pedestal table. Bold black-striped fabric used for Roman shades and a credenza table skirt repeat the color theme, while warm maple chairs soften the mood. For a dash of drama, window trim, base, and crown moldings were painted gloss black. “It pops against the eggshell-finish white walls,” Savage says. To top off the room and in homage to fellow Nashville native Albert Hadley, Savage papered the ceiling with a Hadley-designed wall covering. “It adds a bit of surprise.”

Charm was the operative word as Jennifer Markanich (class of 2008) created a multifunctional mudroom, which serves as a back entry from the garage. A utility sink skirted with a yellow, cream, and gray paisley fabric carries the charm banner, but it’s super functional as well. A wide drainboard makes it a good work surface when loading laundry into the nearby washer and dryer. Shelves above the sink are stocked with vases, simplifying flower arranging. And for a fun twist on traditional, the designer covered a modern Philippe Starck “Ghost Chair” in paisley fabric.

Markanich maximized space in the small room, extending cabinets from floor to ceiling for storage and adding a refrigerator, a built-in desk (where she set up a sewing machine for quick repairs), and a drying rack.

The architect put the living room in the center of the house, with French doors along one wall to an outdoor living area. To allow for traffic along that “hallway” side of the room, designers Mark Simmons and Deb Tallent (both class of 1984) created an inviting sitting area around a fireplace. The palette was drawn from Mrs. O’More’s favorite colors and a Turkish-inspired spice-and-teal fabric the designers chose to accent a high-back wing chair.

The hues are repeated in the sofa, club chair, an antique-looking Oushak rug, and artwork, including portraits of Simmons’s own children. “We wanted the room to be comfortable and inviting as well as have an interesting mix of textures, styles of art, furnishings, and materials,” Simmons says.

French doors in the living room and master bedroom connect to a covered porch and terrace grounded with cobblestone-like pavers. “Our concept was to create outdoor living spaces, so we started with function,” says Linda Tallent Brown (class of 1983), who furnished the patio area with Louise Kitchell (class of 1978). “We divided it into three areas—dining and seating, which are closest to the living and breakfast rooms, and simply relaxing in the swing, which is closest to the master bedroom,” Brown adds.

The swing bed was a must-have, the designers enthuse. Handmade by a local carpenter, the swing was built with reclaimed wood from an 1800s barn. The mattress is covered with indoor-outdoor fabric edged in super-sized piping, giving it an old-fashioned look.

Other comfortable seating options are offered in the upholstered sofa and club chairs covered with indoor-outdoor fabrics and cushions. A durable plastic area rug and wire coffee table complete the living-room feel, and the blue-painted ceiling and pillows made with botanically-inspired embroidered fabrics add fresh color accents. A branch-style chandelier and sconces illuminate the spaces and make for magical evenings.

Dialing down the volume of the day was the aim for Kathleen Evers (class of 1985) when she designed the master suite, which includes an elegant iron four-poster from Ironware International that faces French doors to the terrace. It also has a sitting area with two armchairs, built-in coffee/wet bar, and a mirror-lined bathroom and dressing room. “I wanted restful colors to emphasize that this is a place to relax,” she says. “Soothing aqua and cream, together with warm charcoal accents, appeal to both the masculine and feminine,” she adds.

A large oil painting by artist Ryan S. Brown titled Daydreams reinforces that laid-back feel. Project organizer Haynes encouraged showhouse designers to display original art in their spaces. “I had seen gallery art used at a showhouse in New York and thought it would be a wonderful opportunity for our Nashville gallery and would add to the impact of the rooms,” she explains.

French doors elegantly link the bedroom and bath, creating a stunning presentation of the focal-point nickel tub on glimmering hexagonal floor tiles. “My first choice was the floor tile; it’s modern yet has a vintage flair,” Evers says. “The bath’s Hollywood glamour style calls for rich materials such as the marble, the mirrors to reflect light, and the elegant lighting.”

The bathroom floor plan divides the room in half, with dual vanities and dressing areas separated by a center walk-in shower that can be entered from either side. At the far end of the room, a built-in chest of drawers and sit-down dressing table are as functional as they are charming.

Designer and antiques store owner Scarlett Scales-Tingas (class of 2004) brought her flair for whimsy, history, and repurposing materials to an upstairs guest bedroom. Vintage hand-painted drapery panels she used for the windows and as a shower curtain in the adjoining bath set her color scheme of ivory and muted gold.

Pages from an old scrapbook of pressed flowers were framed and arranged around the headboard, which was fashioned from a salvaged wood mantel.

Blue bottles dating from the 1860s and dug from dump sites make a nostalgic arrangement on top of the headboard. “After spending more than 100 years in the earth, the acids in the soil eat away at the glass. That process is what gives them that nice cloudy iridescence,” Scales-Tingas says.

Her favorite find for the room was a French campaign sitz bath, a zinc tub painted in a worn yellow and dating from the 1860s. “It is a rare piece that adds patina, color, history, and character to the space.”

Kim Zimmer (class of 2004) went for bold colors and large-scale patterns to create a bright and welcoming upstairs family room with adjoining aviary-inspired wet bar. The sofa, two teal velvet-covered chairs, an oversized ottoman, and a high-back leather chair allow for ample and comfortable seating while watching TV.

“I started with the wall covering in the bar area, called ‘A-Twitter,’ and then repeated the bird-and-branch motif throughout the space,” she says, pointing to gold-toned birds perched on the curtain rods.

Dormers and sloped rooflines on the shingle-style cottage’s exterior create charming nooks and niches inside, such as this cozy guest room window alcove, designed by showhouse coordinator JoAnne Haynes. “I envisioned the room as a fresh, bright space where a visiting adult might come with a child,” she says. “The daybed could accommodate a youngster or offer a place to relax in private.” this sitting or sleeping spot in a guest room above the garage. Schumacher’s “Chinois Palais” in Lettuce, which designer JoAnne Haynes used to cover the center pillow on the daybed, inspired the color palette.

Color inspiration comes straight from the Tennessee landscape: green grass, blue skies, and white clouds. “I brought in the bright greens from the outside views and accented that with sky blue in the antique Canton ware [blue-and-white dishes],” she says. The slanted ceilings, which are part of the house’s charm, were a bit of a challenge because they resulted in some 7-foot-tall walls. “To camouflage that and add a casual elegance, I applied painted wood to the ceiling and installed a gray accent molding to draw the eye up,” she says.

An upstairs storage studio was carved out of space in the attic above the master suite thanks to Kathy Sandler (class of 2004). Open shelves along the walls and a glass-topped table set the stage for multiple activities: packing, off-season clothing storage, hobbies, and gift wrapping. “The floor area is large at 11 by 14, but the knee walls and steeply pitched ceiling called for low-profile furnishings,” Sandler says. She went with a petite upholstered chair that wouldn’t crowd the space, as well as a glass-and-chrome table and a large floor-length mirror that reflect light. Citron-colored fabric and artwork add rays of sunshine to the windowless space.

A few steps down the hall, John Starbuck (class of 1983) transformed a boxy alcove into a cozy reading nook, using warm colors and antiques, such as a Tennessee cherry plantation desk. To soften harsh sunlight and add a dramatic jewel-like backdrop, the designer arranged stained-glass panels in front of otherwise unremarkable windows. In tribute to Mrs. O’More, Starbuck painted the ceiling a salmon-coral hue he recalled her using for her dining room ceiling. “I loved it because it gave almost a sunrise lifting effect,” he says. “I often use accent colors on ceilings to define spaces.” Starbuck hand-painted a simple garland around the chandelier to draw the eye upward.

Jennifer Jones (class of 1982) warmed a first-level back stair hall by upholstering a focal-point wall (it’s visible the length of the house) with burlap outlined with upholstery tape and nailheads. The wall treatment provides a tailored backdrop for an elegant iron-and-limestone table, a crystal lamp, and a painting of tiger lilies (mimicked in real life with flowers and an orange on the table).

In the nearby hall powder room, Jones installed a floral wall covering above limestone wainscoting. The paper’s pattern peeks through the fretwork of the handmade Italian mirror. When choosing the paper, Jones was mindful of the colors in adjoining rooms. “It needed to complement the surrounding rooms, which included the living room, master bedroom, and up the stairs,” she notes.

One of the successful aspects of the project was how well all the designers worked together to create spaces that flowed beautifully from room to room, says Haynes. “There was no jealousy or competition. Everyone shared ideas and sources,” she adds. That’s probably because each shares a common loyalty to O’More College.

“I’ve always had a special place in my heart for O’More, ever since I was a student in the late 1970s,” she explains. “Mrs. O’More was an amazing woman, and that education—that experience—allowed me to have a successful career. For that I will always be thankful.”